The 7 Stages of Love
by Kleia
Summary: As they grow older, they both experience different kinds of love. Even the ones unnoticeable. —GrayLuWeek2016; AU (Rated T for safety.)
1. Whisper

**The 7 Stages of Love**

 **Stage 1 – Whispers**

 **A/N:** In this chapter, the _italicized words_ mean _whispers._

 **Summary:** And she never will like him. He has a bad attitude.

 **WARNING:** Please understand that this is based off the old Fairy Tail. However you vision how old I meant, it's up to you. But please do know that I'm not updated about Fairy Tail's latest chapter/episodes. Thank you.

 **DISCLAIMER:** _Kleia does not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does._

* * *

What should she do now?

All of the hiding places are taken.

And Natsu was halfway in his counting, and he might even be peeking!

Where should she go where should she go where should she go where—

" _Pssssst,_ " someone said from the bushes, causing Lucy to jump a bit and turn to where she had heard the call to find Gray's head popping out of the bush, a hand cupping the side of his mouth. Lucy suspiciously turned her head left and right, checking if the coast was clear, before tiptoeing towards the indifferently molded statue, which was Gray. " _You're gonna get caught by the police if you stay there._ " He pointed out in an undertone, his eyes flat.

" _Yeah, I know, but I don't know where to hide!_ " Lucy retorted in the same whisper, inching nearer to his face as she furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance.

" _Hide with me, c'mon,_ " he urged, " _but go around the bush or we'll get caught._ "

With that, Gray had disappeared within the space behind the bushes, and Lucy was left standing there, dumbfounded. Hide with Gray? She barely even knew who he was! She was even certain he didn't know her name! But she didn't want to lose in the game—

"Eight…!" Natsu counted aloud.

Lucy panicked. She breathed in and out, putting on a determined face upon exhaling. Then, she ran around the bush and into Gray, who stumbled backwards and landed on his bottom. Lucy staggered some forward until she was able to regain her balance, rubbing on her throbbing arm. Gray, meanwhile, gritted his teeth and grumbled as he rubbed his sore bottom. He winced at the pain and glared up at Lucy. " _Ouch…!_ " he exclaimed in a low voice, quite angry at Lucy's clumsiness.

" _I'm sorry, okay?"_ she exasperatedly said, rolling her eyes some before peeking through the bush. The moment she saw Natsu running around and catching people, she jerked away from the bush and hid behind Gray. " _The cops are out…_ " she whispered against his neck, earning a low sigh of irritation from Gray.

" _Yeah? You better keep quiet then…_ " he mumbled, folding his arms over his chest as he crossed his legs irritably.

Lucy blinked from behind him, anger slowly rising from her stomach. She was starting to dislike Gray. And she never will like him. He has a bad attitude. She scooted away from Gray and faced her own corner, blinking away tears of ire.

" _Man, I'm getting bored…_ " Gray whispered aloud to himself, gaining Lucy's attention.

She turned her head to him, eyed him for a moment before snapping her head away from him and huffing. " _You shouldn't have played with us then_ ," she answered, harshly crossing her arms over her chest.

" _I was talking to myself,_ " he whispered back.

She turned around. " _So you—_ "

"I think I hear something over there!" one of the cops exclaimed, hushing Lucy and Gray and making them frozen in place.

Gray snapped his head toward Lucy, an icy glare on his eyes. " _I told you to keep quiet, now they're after us!_ " he accused, pointing a blaming finger at Lucy, causing her to flinch unknowingly at how irritated he was.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Gray beat her to it, since he got up, puffed out his chest—

" _What are you doing?_ " Lucy exclaimed in a low tone, getting up on her knees and crawling to him. " _If you run out, you'll get caught!_ "

Gray sighed through his nose. " _Duh, I know what I'm gonna do,_ "

" _Then why are you doing it?_ "

" _Why don't you_ want _me to do it?_ "

" _Because you're gonna get caught!_ "

" _I know that, okay? I—_ "

The bushes started to rattle, making the two cease their hushed argument and turn their heads to the bushes, eyes wide in terror. They were frozen on their spots, anticipating for the cop who has come to arrest them—the two thieves.

Natsu suddenly popped out of the bush, pointing a triumphant finger at the two, laughing in authority. "I got you two!" he proclaimed in a mock authoritarian voice, planting his free hand on his hips. He then wiped a tear of joy from the corner of his eyes. "This was too easy! I'm king of this game!" he exclaimed in victory, before pointing at Lucy and Gray. "Bow down before me, peasants!" he laughed maniacally.

" _He looks more like an idiot than a king…_ " Gray whispered to himself, but was still audible enough for Natsu—who immediately grumbled and stomped his feet—and Lucy—who giggled to herself—to hear.

"Yeah? Well who looked so pee-in-my-pants scared when I caught him?" Natsu fought back, taking a step forward toward Gray, who comically glared at him and stood up.

"Who has pink hair?" They bumped their heads together, and Lucy thought she saw Gray's blue aura and Natsu's red one colliding.

"Who has droopy eyes?" Natsu grabbed his own eyes and pulled them down. "Droopy droopy droopy!"

"Yeah? You have weird squinty ones!"

"At least my eyes don't droop!"

"At least my hair isn't pink!"

"Hey! Take that back!"

"Too late! I already said it a while ago! Stupid!"

"Stop fighting!" Lucy shouted between the two boys, pushing them away from each other. They both clamed up, staring bewilderedly at Lucy, who stomped her feet and folded her arms at them. She then looked at Gray, who blinked at her in curiosity. "You buy me ice cream." She demanded, brown eyes sharp and glinting malevolently.

" _Ha?_ " he gasped exaggeratedly. "Why would I do that?"

She stomped her feet again. "Because we _lost_!"

"It's just a game…" Gray mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and averting his gaze at Lucy.

"Hey I want ice cream too!" Natsu volunteered from behind them, spritely raising his hand and jumping just as well.

"Then why don't we buy each other ice cream!" Lucy offered, sticking her finger up in the air.

Natsu raised his thumb and grinned toothily. "Count me in!"

"Count me out," Gray bluntly said, earning boo's from Lucy and Natsu.

The former then went in front of Gray and clasped her hands together, giving him the best puppy eyes she could ever pull. " _Please please please please pleeeeeaaaassseee, Gray?_ " she pleaded in a whisper, forcing her own tears to come out her brown eyes as she observed how Gray was fighting the urge to look directly into her eyes.

He sighed.

"… _Fine_."

* * *

 **A/N:** Child Lucy and Gray, woot! Hope you're beginning to like this! (And my comeback after a loooong time of writing for FT. I'm not even updated, wth.) I'm sorry my writing isn't really like this. Just writing from a child's view, mehehe. Anyway, stay tuned!

HAPPY GRAYLU WEEK! Lovelots!


	2. Déjà Vu

**The 7 Stages of Love**

 **Stage 2 – D** **éjà** **Vu**

 **Summary:** Her heart was beating too too too wildly. His heart was going to explode because it was beating so damn fast.

 **WARNING:** Please understand that this is based off the old Fairy Tail. However you vision how old I meant, it's up to you. But please do know that I'm not updated about Fairy Tail's latest chapter/episodes. Thank you.

And there will be many changes in the POV (like it keeps on alternating); intended.

 **You should read Chapter One before you read this.** (Which I assume is obvious, lol.)

 **DISCLAIMER:** _Kleia does not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does._

* * *

" _Pssssst_ ,"

Lucy's ears perked up. She heard that from somewhere, from someone. From a time she forgot, but she knew she was there and she had experienced it. She was there but how come she had forgotten? She looked to her left then to her right, scanning the area for the person who had indirectly called her. It was Levy, waving at her from a short distance, along with Erza and Lisanna, their short blue skirts dancing with the wind, the blue ribbon on their sailor's uniform joining in on the dance.

"Lucy! Hurry up!" She shouted in between their gap of a few meters, causing a blush to form on Lucy's cheeks due to sheer embarrassment. They were both aware that they were earning eyes from the other students.

But her mind simply cannot wander off from the thought of hearing that same way of calling. She furrowed her eyebrows, taking her time to walk towards her group of friends. From where had she heard that? She just can't point it out. It was as if she was stuck on a single item in a test, knowing full-well that she had studied about that particular question, but her mind had been blocked by fog.

But slowly, as if gathering the puzzle pieces one by one, she started to hear a familiar voice, calling out to her, telling her to hide or else they'll get caught.

Hide from what?

* * *

 _School has ended, finally._

Gray sighed through his nose, walking out of their school building aimlessly, inwardly looking forward to go straight home and simply relish in his solitude. He adjusted his school bag, then his black Chinese collar, then he ironed out his black uniform—

" _Ouch!_ "

Someone had bumped into him.

And that someone was Natsu.

Apparently, he ran around without looking like the idiot he was. Behind him was a breathless Loki, his face so red Gray almost mistook him as a breathing tomato. He stifled a laugh, composing himself and glaring at Natsu, who simply eyed him weirdly.

"I said that hurt." Gray repeated, expecting an apology from the pink-haired idiot.

Natsu clicked his tongue and ruffled his hair, walking once again. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Something had hit him.

Why did that sound so painfully familiar? Why did he hear a little girl's voice echoing those same words at the back of his mind? He hadn't encountered a little girl recently. More so, no little girl had bumped into him lately. None. So why did the feeling of something so familiar had struck him? But he just knew it. He just knew that it had happened. Those words. He knew those were said. But who said those?

"Hey, Droopy Eyes, are you dead or what?" Natsu asked, chuckling some as he waved his hand in front of his face to snap him out of his stupor.

They all proceeded to walking. "Hey, Natsu," he called out, looking straight ahead in a daze as Natsu hummed in acknowledgement. "Do you remember a little girl apologizing to me?" he wrapped his hands around the straps of his bag.

Natsu suddenly burst out laughing, causing Gray to glare at him. He took a short glance at Loki, who simply shrugged at him and continued walking. When Natsu had composed himself, he patted Gray hard on the shoulder. "Are you out of your mind, Snowman? What kind of memory do you have?" he joked, resting his elbow on Gray's shoulder. "But seriously? I don't remember any. Why?"

He hesitated. Natsu would definitely make fun of him again. But still, he was his best friend. "I don't know… Déjà vu, I guess?" he shrugged nonchalantly. Maybe Natsu was right. Maybe he really _was_ losing his mind.

"Maybe you had a dream about it," Loke guessed, earning another boisterous laugh from Natsu.

Gray glared at Loki, mentally sending him a message which was along the lines of _Yeah, nice guess, I really am some creepy dude who dreams about little girls apologizing to me. Way to go, Loki. Just really. You're so rad_ , earning a nervous and dismissive chuckle from Loki _._

* * *

Lisanna halted in her tracks as she gasped loudly, making Lucy snap her attention to her, eyeing her curiously. "What's the ma—"

"It's him," she said, breathless. She craned her neck to Erza, Levy, and Lucy, her lineaments showing utter panic. "It'shimwebetterhide."

Lucy blinked, "Wha—"

She was cut-off once again by Lisanna rapidly grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her toward a nearby bush, the leaves and the branches covering up their small frames. They all crouched down instinctively, eyeing the flushing Lisanna in deep confusion. From what Lucy knew, all of them were simply enjoying their walks to the café (which is also their hangout spot) to consume their time on more female bonding and Friday chitchat. But this? She never knew this was coming.

Heck, she didn't even know Lisanna had a crush of some sort.

She felt quite betrayed.

"Lisanna, care to explain the situation here?" Levy asked, a little bit irked, but it was obviously due to the fact that Lisanna had interfered with their Friday plan. They all eyed Lisanna intensely, forcing her to squeeze out the juice in which she had been hiding from them since she-knows-when.

Lisanna heaved out a whitewashed sigh, poking her head out the bush, squealing softly, before squatting back down and looking at them in sheer remorse. She fiddled with her fingers, her blush intensifying, as she searched for all the right words to say. "Well…" she trailed off, her eyes following the echo of her voice. She sighed once again. "Okay so I like this guy but he's not from our school but he's near our school and well one day we just sorta bumped into each other and I saw sparks and bam ever since then I had this crush on him." She burbled, taking in a lot of air afterwards, the relief washing over her once guilt-ridden face.

"Do you know his name?" Erza asked, still unsurprisingly calm.

"… Natsu…" she said in a tiny voice, blushing even more.

Lucy blinked.

Natsu Natsu Natsu.

A name which sounded so foreign but tasted so familiar at the tip her tongue.

"Natsu?" she had managed to blurt out, innocently, unconsciously, earning three other pairs of eyes.

Lisanna leaned over a tad, interest sparking in her blue blue eyes. "Do you know him, Lucy?"

She found herself shaking her head no.

" _Well_ ," Levy suddenly interfered, "I think it's about time we discuss this in a _better_ place because my legs are killing me right now and aren't you guys aware that _people_ are _looking—_ "

"I think I hear something over there!" a voice reaching masculinity proclaimed.

* * *

They all knew it was a Friday. And Friday defined goofing off and going out to somewhere they don't even know to do something they'll do spontaneously until they have ran out of their weekly stipend. But Natsu, as he is, got hungry. So now here they were, walking down the streets of God-knows-where, hunting for a cheap restaurant selling burgers. (Because he had been craving for it this past week.)

"Why don't you just eat McDonald's?" Loki asked, already impatient due to the fact that Natsu had been wasting all of their valuable time looking for a restaurant which suits his tastes. (Which is quite a big surprise for Gray, since, judging Natsu and his over-the-top appetite, he thought that the nutcase would never even have standards on food.)

He shrugged, planting his hands behind his neck casually. "Eh, I wanna try something new,"

"Well you better hurry up Ashtray, you're wasting a lot of time here," Gray said with a purposed roll of his eyes. (In which Natsu finds it an unmanly thing to do. Said comment coming from their school mate, Elfman, who looks at everything as manly.)

But then Natsu had suddenly stopped in his tracks, much to Gray's and Loki's irritation and confusion. He was just staring straight ahead. He might have changed his mind. Gray waited for him to do so, but Natsu just stood there, as if he had been turned into a statue by someone out there. (Shivers ran down his spine. It could be true.)

Then he pointed at a random bush.

"I think I hear something over there!"

Gray's heart skipped a beat.

That was all _too_ familiar.

His eyes ventured to the bush Natsu was pointing at. Could she be there? She could be there, hiding. But what was her name again? She never even introduced herself properly before, so how could he expect to remember her name now?

Those seven words were a little too familiar.

* * *

And much to their horror, they had two things coming for them: one, he was nearby, so he might be talking about them, and two, _he_ was _Natsu_. _The_ Natsu. The Natsu they had been talking about seconds ago. Lucy snapped her head toward Lisanna, who looked as if she were a deer caught in the headlights. She turned back to Natsu and the gang.

Her heart was beating fast. Too fast.

Her eyes widened.

Pink hair. Squinty eyes. Toothy grin.

Natsu.

Of course.

She had felt this adrenaline some time before. The rushing of her blood through her veins in anticipation of what was yet to come, and the goosebumps which she dreaded having all over her body in fear of hearing those seven words of death—of being found by someone you don't want to. This had happened before.

" _Déjà vu…_ " she mumbled under her breath, hopeful that none of her friends were able to hear.

* * *

She couldn't possibly be there. Natsu is an idiot. He could be hearing things.

"Eh, are you sure, Tobacco Freak? You're probably hearing things," Gray said in a deliberate uninterested tone, shrugging his shoulders at Natsu, who shot a glare at him. "It could be that your hunger is slowly taking over you. You could be hearing a hamburger talking right now. What, thought that was a juicy hamburger over there?" he teased, stopping the smirk from curving his lips.

* * *

That voice was familiar too familiar.

She heard him she heard him she heard him she just doesn't remember where and when she heard that voice and who owned that voice.

She got on her knees and peeked out the bush.

She ignored the silent protests of her friends.

* * *

"Are you picking a fight with me, huh, Elsa?" Natsu spat, bumping his head with Gray's. ("Guys… you're attracting attention…" Loki mumbled.)

It hurt a little.

But he will never admit it, of course.

"Too hungry to see the obvious, huh, Pinky?"

A grumble.

It was Natsu's stomach.

He withered away. And he blushed.

Aw, how cute.

Gray and Loki burst out laughing, pointing teasing fingers at Natsu, who shouted at them in defense. He was still blushing.

* * *

She knew one person who would call Natsu _Pinky_.

It was him. It was certainly him. Her heart was beating too too too wildly.

* * *

"Shut up, Snow Queen!"

"Awww, wittle Natsu's embawwassed!" Gray teased, earning a smack from the red Natsu. He yelped in pain, instantly holding the spot Natsu had hit. "Ouch! That was uncalled for, Squinty Eyes!"

"Yeah well you asked for it, Droopy Eyes!"

"You really are an idiot! I never asked for any—"

* * *

"Stop fighting!"

She covered her mouth. Her eyes were the size of the planets. She hid behind the bush.

What had she done?

Why did she shout that?

There was something deep deep deep down inside her which told her to do so. Because that was what she always does. And strangely, the moment she shouted that, she felt so at home. The memories of when they were kids flooding her whole body, déjà vu hitting her so hard she simply stood there in shock as she was brought back to her toddler days. This had happened before. And she knew it.

They conformed her order.

And all were quiet.

* * *

He stood frozen for many seconds.

Until his brain was suddenly commanding his feet to move toward the talking bush.

Until he was already in front of the bush, Natsu and Loki behind him, just as curious as he was.

His heart was going to explode because it was beating so damn fast.

He hoped he was imagining everything.

But if he was, wouldn't Natsu be laughing out loud by now?

This was definitely real.

He took in a deep and quiet breath, before bowing down and turning his head in search for the owner of the awfully familiar voice.

He found her.

* * *

She sat still in her position, with her knees tucked in her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs and her hands draped over her ankles. She was still breathing rapidly, still not believing what she had just done. Red painted her cheeks. That was definitely mortifying. She sighed through her nose.

She looked at Lisanna, Erza, and Levy.

They all looked like fish. They were gaping at something.

Or someone.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She dared to turn her head to the other direction.

In that moment, she didn't know what breathing was.

* * *

She looked at him in her big and brown brown brown eyes. Even in this slight darkness, he knows. He knows how chocolate those eyes are.

She gaped. And they both froze.

* * *

"… I found you,"

He spoke.

He spoke and she doesn't know what to do.

(His voice his voice his voice oh how much his voice had changed.)

She suddenly found herself on her feet.

"Gray,"

She found herself muttering his name.

They found themselves staring at each other. And she noticed just then that it was true; his eyes _are_ droopy. She had to cover up her forming smile. His hair was still the same midnight shade. But he grew taller. They were of the same height when they were kids. And that was years back. Now, she stood right under his eyes. She felt rather small. Her confidence has been taken from her—

She was wrapped in his arms.

Her figure was against him and his arms were embracing her and (she liked it) she didn't know what to do. She stood there stupidly as Gray's arms tightened around her, suffocating her in a good way. She hoped he wouldn't feel her heart banging against her chest, begging to come out. She hoped he wouldn't feel how hot her face ears and neck were. She hoped he wouldn't feel her legs turning into jelly.

She hoped he would remember her name.

* * *

He was hugging her. And damn his heart was going bonkers.

He was hugging her. And he knew he thought about that seconds ago but damn this moment can't be any more surreal. She was small. She felt so fragile to hold. She smelled good. (Was it her or was it her hair? But damn she smelled good. He could smell her forever. And it sounded creepy.) She was warm and soft. Were all girls this soft to hold? He didn't know if it was his heart or hers that was beating so wildly. Or maybe it was both of their hearts.

"Dude, you're kinda freaking her out," Loki suddenly said. He just knew. "And you're gaining attention by the way. People are staring."

But he didn't let go. She didn't struggle to break free, either.

"And you're kinda freaking her friends out—" he was hushed, "—what?" Someone—Natsu—was whispering something. Loki understood, because he kept quiet after.

* * *

"I've finally found you,"

He whispered against her ear, and the breath he left on her ear turned into lava and she was melting away. Her heart couldn't beat any faster than this. But it did. And it was frightening yet welcoming at the same time—how she feels this warmth from a person she saw now after years.

It took her forever to chuckle against his neck. It took her forever to finally use her voice.

"Are we still playing thieves and cops?"

His hands were on her shoulders and he pushed her back gently. Her eyes were made of saucers as his own orbs stared deep into her soul.

"You still remember?"

She smiled. "If I didn't, wouldn't you be covered in my slaps and punches by now?"

He smiled. His hands were still on her shoulders. "I never thought I would see you again after you moved away,"

"Well, you did now, didn't you?"

He chuckled. And that was, by far, one of the best melodies she has ever heard.

"Hi'ya Luigi!" Natsu cheerily exclaimed, interrupting their rather intimate moment as he threw her his toothy grin which reminded her of their last encounter, which was years ago. (Lisanna, Erza, and Levy laughed behind her.) He draped his arm around her shoulder, laughing away, making the atmosphere so light and cheery. "Long time, no see, no?"

She chuckled. "Yeah," she nodded, until she remembered something. "And I'm _Lucy_ , not Luigi. By the way," she added, not giving the pouting Natsu a chance to explain. She turned to her giggling friends. "They're my friends—Lisanna, Erza, and Levy. Guys, this is Natsu and Gray. We're childhood friends." They stood up and went to Natsu and Gray, giving them warm waves and grins.

Lisanna went up to her and cupped her hand to her mouth, leaning into Lucy's ear. "I thought you didn't know Natsu," she whispered, earning a shameful laugh from Lucy.

"Yeah, well, I didn't recognize the name at first, but when I saw him, it all clicked." She whispered back, and thankfully, Lisanna beamed and nodded in understanding.

Gray then blinked in realization and turned to his and Natsu's companion. "Ah, this is Loki," he gestured to Loki, who stepped forward and gave them warm smiles. "Loki, Lucy and friends. Lucy and friends, Loki."

" _Anyway_ ," Natsu emphasized, earning everyone's eyes. "I'm hungry, guys. We should continue this reunion and meet-and-greet somewhere else. I can't take it anymore. I'm so hungry. Aren't you guys hungry? 'Cause I am—"

"Damn, shut up, Natsu," Gray rolled his eyes.

Lucy chuckled, causing Natsu to stop answering back midway. "Why don't we have some ice cream?" she suggested, watching Natsu's and Gray's eyes flash in recognition and delight. She giggled.

"But shouldn't dinner go first?" Lisanna suddenly asked, making everyone nod in agreement.

Lucy shrugged. "Of course. Ice cream for dessert then. We better text our parents first, though. So who's in?"

Everyone raised their hands. Natsu enthusiastically raised his and jumped up and down childishly. "Count me in!" he exclaimed, grinning widely. He knew he had said it before, his eyes said so, and Lucy laughed. Such déjà vu.


	3. Notes

**The 7 Stages of Love**

 **Stage 3 – Notes**

 **A/N:** In this chapter, the _italicized words_ mean _notes/letters being sent._ Or _thoughts_ and some other stuff.

 **Summary:** Her heart was beating too too too wildly. His heart was going to explode because it was beating so damn fast.

 **WARNING:** Please understand that this is based off the old Fairy Tail. However you vision how old I meant, it's up to you. But please do know that I'm not updated about Fairy Tail's latest chapter/episodes. Thank you.

 _And_ please notice that their high school is based off the American one wherein the students switch classrooms. And they where casual clothing in here. No uniforms.

AND THERE ARE CUSSES!

 **DISCLAIMER:** _Kleia does not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does._

* * *

 _And why are we doing this again? (_ _・_ ___ _・ヾ_

 _Because,_ Gray scribbled on a piece of bright blue Post-It note, his tongue unconsciously sticking out as he wrote down his reply. _I don't know. It seems kinda fun, so why not?_ He clicked the cap of his pen back to its head, smiling slightly in satisfaction at his reply, as he folded the paper and passed it on to Lucy, who was just beside him.

It was just their first week of high school. And so far, Gray was feeling grand. (Simply because he had gained the attention of a lot of girls during his first day, which was rare in his middle school years. But he did get some verbal slaps from the guys, too. Which made things even better.) High school was much, _much_ different than middle school. Much. Everything was new— _fresh_ , and it was as if Gray could make this year his debut year. (Because his middle school years sucked badly. The nerdy days of spending time playing video games like Pokémon and binge-watching anime, completely forgetting what school was. Although, he still sneakily does those past hobbies of his, but with limited time. How could he resist Pokémon and anime so simply?)

But he had to admit, it wasn't really just _pure coincidence_ that his childhood friend (and kind of a crush), Lucy Heartfilia, was his schoolmate. And he had two reasons for that matter: 1) they may or may not live near each other, and Magnolia High may or may not be the nearest school to go to, and 2) he may or may not have missed her since their last encounter (which was when he had a series of déjà vu that became abnormal and it became more abnormal because he ended up finding Lucy hiding behind a bush like their childhood days) so he may or may not have stalked her on Twitter and Facebook just to get the name of the school she was going to attend for high school.

He was such a creep. And he hopes Lucy will never find out his reasons for studying in Magnolia High. Ever.

But so far, his friendship with Lucy was, well, awesome. She acted as if they haven't been separated—and as if they didn't have that moment behind the bush in middle school. Damn, that was embarrassing now that he thinks about it—and now they're kind of like glued together. Sure, some guys hate him for it, and some girls hate her for it, but there are still a combination of other guys and girls who don't care. And they're included in the latter. So what if he hangs out with Lucy (despite the fact that she's now grown so achingly gorgeous he couldn't bring himself to talk to her at first because he kept on thinking it wasn't her when it truly was her)? At least he had the guts to approach her unlike the puny guys who could only stare at her from afar and just dream on.

He was such a lucky guy.

A note was slapped gently on his desk. He knew who it was from, but he still glanced up at the back of her blond head and smile so slightly. (He knew he looked like a love-struck idiot. But it was from Lucy, so who cares?) His eyes then traveled to the yellow note on his desk, folded neatly and squarely, the name _Gray_ written on the front of the paper in elegant cursive. (He would never throw this one away.) He stopped himself from staring at a dumb piece of paper (from his slight crush) and decided to open it quietly, glancing up at the front of the classroom to check on their teacher before opening the note carefully and discreetly.

 _Fun my ass, Fullbuster. You just want to exchange books with me 'cause you weren't able to buy one on time. (;¬_¬)_

Her emoji drawings are always so cute. He smiled at her writing and got another Post-It, scribbling down his reply: _Okay fine you got me. But I wouldn't want your efforts of exchanging books with me go to waste. How about a deal, hm? You exchange your books with me—whatever books I'll need—but if you don't get a topic or if you need answers to some certain questions, I'll gladly help you out on it. I mean, Chemistry's the only class we have together. So… deal?_ He read his reply once again before folding it, mollified at his negotiation. He then passed it on to Lucy, who looked at him from his peripheral vision, before opening his note.

He then planted his cheek on the palm of his hand, absent-mindedly tapping his pen on his empty notebook which was left open. Their teacher's voice was all blurred out to his ears. It was too boring, this class. He decided to sneak a peek at Lucy, who was apparently trying to get his attention by piercing her eyes through his head. He blinked at her drowsily, as she raised her thumb up, showing him that she had agreed to his proposition.

* * *

Today's note from Gray at the back of Lucy's History book says, _It's got to be London._

She'd just left a note for him from her yesterday's History class, after her teacher had asked them what the first city to have a population of one million was as their day-to-day trivia. She contemplated on this before giving an impressed look, neatly putting her other unneeded books in her locker while still rereading the note Gray has sent her. (They know each other's locker numbers for easy access to their replies and whatnot.) His writing was always so… architectural. Always even and in all caps.

She then walked briskly to her next class, immediately sitting next to Cana, since all the seats were taken. It wasn't as if she didn't like Cana (she was a really nice girl), it was just they weren't able to talk so much. So it was awkward. On Lucy's part, that is.

"What's up with you and that Fullbuster guy, huh, Lucy?" Cana teasingly and suddenly asked, as if they've been friends—really close friends all this time. She planted her cheek on her hand, whose elbow was resting on her desk, as she looked at her with half-lidded eyes and a joshing smile.

Lucy simply blinked at her. She's confused. "What do you mean?"

Cana chuckled, snorting softly. "You mean you yourself don't know what's going on?" she asked, voice quite shaky from her small fit of chuckles. When Lucy simply eyed her blankly, her smile faded and she looked at Lucy with pinches of understanding, pity, and shock. She nodded slightly, her smile slowly returning. "What I meant to ask was," she composed herself, "are you and Fullbuster like… a _thing_?"

She almost choked on her own saliva.

"What—why would we—God, I— _no_!" she exclaimed, controlling her voice so as not to attract attention from her other classmates. Cana simply laughed at her reaction. She felt herself heating up at the moment. She recoiled herself. "Well, Gray and I are childhood friends, so we know each other a lot."

"Well, what's with the mushy smiles both of you have on from time to time? I see notes sometimes, too."

Lucy rolled her eyes at Cana's wiggling eyebrows, giggling to herself as she opened her mouth to explain the truth behind the notes—

Class started. The teacher went in and everyone greeted him before sitting back down. He asked them what was the first city to have a population of one million? London, she confidently said. The class was then silent for a while. And the teacher gave her an impressed smile.

She was right.

No.

Gray was right. She smiled at this as she took a triumphant sit on her chair, earning a thumbs-up from Cana. She fished out her Post-Its.

 _Thanks, Genius. I owe you one. （○｀ω´）ゞ_

* * *

During Chemistry, Gray writes Lucy a note that says, _Wanna grab some snacks after school?_ He drew two boxes at the bottom of the question, a yes or a no.

They've been doing this—the note-passing thing—for a few weeks now, and he has to admit, it feels as if they're something. Maybe their in a relationship, or maybe their friendship has gotten even deeper. It's something to consider. Not only have they written stupid nicknames and answers to this and that on their notes, but also, when they're bored, some fun facts about them or everything else. And it was fun. Passing notes and leaving them at the back of their books and their lockers. It was as if they relived the 90's, when texting wasn't a thing yet. And there was something so retro yet sweet about passing notes.

What's more, is that he could keep them—all of the notes—until he's old and wrinkly and he feels like reminiscing his past with the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

And suddenly he feels so lucky to have this friendship with Lucy Heartfilia.

He ducked his head and looked at the opposite direction from Lucy so she wouldn't see how stupid his smile looked.

A tap on his desk. He whipped his head to Lucy, finding her pointing at the new note on his desk. He stopped a smile from forming as he opened the note, reading his question and raising his brows because Lucy has checked neither yes nor no. But she wrote something else below the boxes, _Asking me out is not part of the deal. ( ￣ ︶ ￣）_

Red was painted on his face and ears and neck.

Has she figured him out?

Shit.

He snapped his head toward Lucy, knowing fully-well how stupidly red he looked. But he didn't care anymore after seeing Lucy in a fit of giggles. (Shit she's so cute when she giggles.) But then he remembered how she was flushing his man-pride down the toilet. So he took out another Post-It and wrote, _Excuse me, but you owe me one, remember?_ And passed it on to Lucy, a smug smile decorating his face.

It was her turn to be quiet, and he covered his mouth with his two fingers as his haughty smile continued to grow.

 _Fine… whatever. Meanie. ( ○･ ε ´･○ )_

He chuckled lightly.

 _I know you love me._

He heard her mock-grimace. He smiled.

* * *

 _Holy shit, I cannot believe you don't know the answer to that, Jedi. You're so dumb._

Lucy simply snorted at the answer Gray sent her. He didn't even answer her question! She ripped off a Post-It off from the pile she has in her locker, and wrote down, _Are you asking me to go back on our deal, Ice Queen?_ before slapping it at the back of her book. She them smiled vindictively as she stomped off to class.

* * *

He winced at how evil Lucy sounded as he reread her reply to his teasing note. _I'M JUST KIDDING! Don't take the deal back I'm sorry!_ He wrote and pasted it at the back of the same book. He then took out another one of Lucy's books from his bag, and instantly turned it to the flyleaves.

 _I hate you, butt-face. (ு ꁞ ு ) ･･_ _･_

He chuckled. She always had the lamest comebacks to whatever he was teasing—

"Ahem, Mr. Fullbuster,"

Oh

Shit.

Oh God. He got caught chuckling at a book like the idiot he was. Slowly, his eyes traveled to the board filled with whatever topic they had, then to the fuming teacher in which he had forgotten the name due to sheer embarrassment, then to his classmates. Shit. Shit shit shit. All eyes were on him. The room was painfully silent and damn did he look so stupidly candid right now he wanted the earth to swallow him whole. Somebody was snickering silently. It was probably Natsu. Damn him.

"Do you find my lesson funny? Or do you find _me_ funny?"

"I find nothing funny, sir." He mumbled under his breath.

He was so red he was about to become a tomato himself.

"Sorry?"

He straightened up and looked him in the eye. "Nothing, sir."

Sir then dubiously eyed him as he slowly reverted his attention back to the board. He cleared his throat. " _So,_ " he began, but the rest of the words started to slur out in Gray's hearing as he snapped his head at Natsu. And surely enough, he was chortling his ass off at what just happened.

He threw him his useless notebook.

* * *

Upon opening her locker, Lucy being surprised was an understatement, as she watched a note falling off her locker. She picked it up. It read, _You look pretty today. I like your hair like that._

She read it over and over again. It seemed so unreal. Did Gray really write this? It couldn't be. But the Post-It was blue. Anyone could have a blue Post-It! But—

Roses started to creep up her cheeks and it was consuming all of her face until she was a rose herself and God it was so hot hot hot she was burning but she was burning in a good way. Her heart was running laps around the world and it was never stopping but her breath was. She didn't know how to breathe now. Was breathing needed? She didn't know. She needed to distract herself.

So she did. She opened up a flyleaf from a random book in her locker. She needed to distract herself. She scanned all the notes they sent to each other, and she was calming down. She read the most recent one: _I just got scolded in Physics today. It sucked like hell. We need to stop this or I'll die because of embarrassment._ He probably just put that book in her locker moments ago. It was so fresh.

She chuckled to herself. He got scolded? That must've been a sight worth seeing. Too bad she wasn't there to witness it. She took out her pink Post-It and penned, _Well it's your fault for getting distracted. I like what we're doing. It's cute._ She stuck it below Gray's note, folded it—since it was already filling up the book—and dashed towards her next class.

* * *

 _Hi._

 _Why are you sending me a note? We're just seatmates, Gray. (￣ ‸ ￣ )_

 _I just want to, okay?_

 _You miss me, don't you? ( ¬ ‿ ¬ )*_

 _Maybeeee, maybe not. ;)_

* * *

 _Hey do you want to know about my hobby?_

Here he goes again. _What is it?_ Lucy replied, passing him her reply in boredom.

 _Rapping_

She furrowed her eyebrows and unfolded the paper.

 _you in my arms ;)_

He was snickering beside her. She was a tomato.

She kicked him underneath their table.

He screamed.

He got scolded.

She didn't.

* * *

It was almost prom. So Gray decided to do something stupidly cliché yet hopefully so terribly romantic or cute for Lucy. (So he bought sets of markers, colored papers—especially pastel ones because he knew how much she loved pastel colors—tape, and some other unnamed things.) Of course he was going to ask her to prom. Why wouldn't he?

So for her, he's going to imitate Justin Bieber.

But instead of letting her get her scarf back, he's letting her look for her Chemistry book.

* * *

It was prom season, and honestly, Lucy wasn't liking it any bit.

Everywhere—literally _everywhere_ —she goes, it's either there's someone 'promposing' or there are couples making out like there's no tomorrow just because they're going to prom together. (Screw them. Screw them all.) She so badly wanted to scream, "Yeah we get it! You're in love! God, you won't even last a lifetime, dammit." Because it really _was_ true. Well, for her, at least. She simply sighed as she made her way to her locker, discreetly rolling her eyes at the exceptional lovey-dovey-ness being displayed out in the open by her school mates.

It wasn't as if she was those girls who didn't believe in love, or something else. In fact, she was an avid reader of romance. She loves how love manifests itself in words and characters and fiction. She loves how that manifestation of love captures her and traps her in a universe filled with literature. But for some strange reason, seeing love in the real world is, for her, an eyesore. Perhaps it's the public display of affection, which sometimes makes her cringe horribly. Perhaps it was how the boys spoil the girls and turns them into brats. Perhaps it really is just the show of affection in public.

She inwardly cringed.

She knew not all love is like in the books or movies. Not all love is filled with deep conversations and profound quotes. Not all love is filled with passion, intensity, with a dash of goofiness and lust on the side. Not all love is staring deep into each other's eyes and finding a galaxy or an ocean within them. Not all love is memorizing his/her face, flaws, and body. Not all love is actually love. So she can't just expect everyone to act as couples she'd read in books and watched in movies. She knew that everyone is in love in their own way.

She wasn't even in the place to give an opinion, since she hasn't had any boyfriend. Ever.

She sighed and

There was a note stuck in her locker. It was blue.

It was from Gray.

She took it out.

It read, _ _ _ N _ E _ T

Was she supposed to fill this out?

A smile was creeping up her lips like vines growing. She knew he knew how much she loved puzzles and solving and mysteries and clues and detective things. She wondered what surprise he had for her. Or what shenanigan awaits.

Now, what would she do with the letters _n, e,_ and _t_?

She opened her locker, and instantly, another clue popped up. She took the blue note.

A small picture of the famous boy band, _One Direction,_ was pasted on it. She furrowed her eyebrows and—

The bell rang. It was time for class.

She sighed in frustration, taking out all the books—

Her Chemistry book is missing. She needs it.

Shit. It's with Gray. (Did he take it out of her locker? That sneaky bastard. But why would he? They're classmates in Chemistry. Weird.)

But he's not here. He's not anywhere.

He's screwed.

* * *

Gray was smiling so goofily as he was putting up the signs and other cliché stuff up in places only they both know, and even putting warnings such as, "JUST FOR LUCY HEARTFILIA!" (He was cutting classes. For the first time.) He knew Lucy would love this—what he's doing. He knew how she adores solving puzzles and stuff he doesn't even get. She's that clever. Smart. So, for her—no matter how cliché it would sound—he would be this mushy for a day.

* * *

A light bulb flicked on in her mind, sounding a _ding_! She almost wanted to exclaim, "Eureka!"

Luckily, the bell had rung just in time for lunch. She tapped her ball pen rapidly on her desk, biting her lip apprehensively and jerking her leg up and down rapidly as she forced herself to listen to their teacher's final remarks. It also seemed like he was rushing. Once he was done, they gathered up their things, while Lucy already dashed out of the door, making a beeline for her locker.

Upon arriving, she took out the two notes Gray had left for her as clues. If the first note consisted of eight letters, and the second note said _One Direction_ , then most probably Gray was pointing to a certain direction. And while the directions point to up, down, left, and right, she can't possibly go with down—since who on earth turns down? She will definitely go with left.

She fished out her pen and filled out the missing letters:

T U R N L E F T

She smiled in satisfaction, walking straight ahead after turning left from where she stood. Not knowing where to go next and making an intelligent guess to turn left again, seeing another sign not far from where she was walking:

JUST FOR LUCY HEARTFILIA!

She had to giggle at that. It was very Gray of him to do. She jogged up to the sign, and right below it, was another Post-It taped to it, containing a drawing of a very familiar scarf. She only knew one boy who would wear a scarf like that to school. (And she was shocked to see how Gray has managed him to agree in helping him out.)

And not far from where she stood, was Natsu. Just there, standing, with a lame look on his face.

 _Okay, so basically he was forced into this... whatever this is,_ Lucy thought with a giggle, as she trotted towards Natsu. When she came up to him, however, a grin spread across his face.

"Hi'ya, Luce!" he greeted sprightly, presenting his raised hand for a high five, in which Lucy did.

"So, um, why did Gray want me to see you?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Oh, well... he wanted to give this to you,"

It was a phrase of some sort, written in a Post-It. Jeez, how many Post-It's did he use for all these clues? She giggled at that. It was sweet of him, though. The note read, _I'M STRECHY._

She looked at Natsu, dumbfounded. "'I'm strechy?' Thought he spelled stretch wrong." she pointed out, furrowing her eyebrows and inwardly wanting to add that missing _t_ in the word. But aside from that...

"And what do I have to do with him being 'strechy?'"

Natsu simply scoffed at her, plating his hands behind his head and looking at her with disinterest. "Honestly? I have no idea. Up to you to find out, I guess..." he shrugged, waving her a good-bye, and walking off nonchalantly, leaving a baffled Lucy standing. She stared at the note more. _Probably since stretch is misspelled, this is just like a series of jumbled up letters which form a word. Hm, I'm strechy, I'm strechy..._

" _It doesn't ring a bell_!" She exclaimed softly to herself, lightly stomping on the ground, yet inwardly applauding Gray for his genius-ness.

 _Let's see... Mis_ — _no... Mystrech? Chyimstre? Doesn't sound like a word... is it even a word?_ She shook her head. _Trychemis?_

Wait.

Whoa.

Holy fuck.

 _Try-che-mis._

 _It's fucking chemistry! What the fuck! He's so gonna die_ — _oh wait 'til I find him!_

She vigorously turned her head left and right, eyes rapidly scanning the areas for a sign—

There was an arrow pointing to their secret hideout.

Oh, he was so gonna get it.

She stomped towards the direction of their hideout—which was just some old abandoned staircase near the almost-dead part of their school. They don't make out—ew, no, she wasn't ready—but they just meet up there in case a) Lucy has some juicy gossip she'd like Gray to know, b) Gray has seen some hot chick or something else he sees everyday, c) they're both feeling like shit and need some comfort from a best friend, and d) just to sit there in silence for the fun of hiding out. And what better and more mysterious place to go to do those than to an old abandoned staircase? It was something they agreed on anyway.

" _Fullbuster, you are going_ down! _And not down like down the stairs, but as in_ down-down!" Lucy scolded, making funny gestures with her hand as she stomped towards the stairs, glancing at the occasional clues she would pass by. He was definitely there. "Gray, can you—"

 _Oh, oh  
I saw so many pretty faces  
_ _Before I saw you, you  
Now all I see is you_

Her eyebrows furrowed as she stopped in her tracks. What the actual fuck?

 _I KNOW YOU AREN'T A FAN OF JB..._ a sign said by the staircase. She walked towards it, and saw another sign that read, _BUT I'LL STOP THIS MUSIC IF YOU JB A CHANCE.._.

Lucy chuckled. That joke sucked. But Gray _always_ sucks.

The song continued to play in the background as she went down the stairs. The cliché part was, it was covered with rose petals. (She was also even surprised that the bell hadn't rung yet. Or maybe it did, and she just didn't notice.) _BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE HAVE CHEMISTRY..._

And her Chemistry book was taped to the wall. She laughed. How did he manage to have it taped to the wall?

"So will you go to the prom with me?"

And there he was, at the bottom of the staircase, with a bouquet of lilies (her favorite) and a plush toy of a snowman of some sort. She laughed again, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as her heart beat faster faster faster and she knew that she was red red red and her head was throbbing but it was throbbing in a good way as she went down the stairs and tackled Gray. They both landed on the floor. The song was still playing.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Gray croaked out, earning another round of giggles from Lucy.

Then he handed her a letter. It had an envelope and everything. She giggled once again. _Huh, so he_ knew _I was going to say yes to him?_ She thought, smiling as she took the letter from him. And on the letter was a note that read, _Yes, I knew you would say yes to me. Heh. ;)_ It made her laugh, considering it was as if they almost had the same thoughts—only Gray had anticipated it.

Her heart was now a balloon and it was floating up up up in the air. She had never felt this happy. She had never felt this _special_. For a guy to put all these efforts just to ask her out to prom. It was stupidly cliché, but hell, how could she consider such a thing after all of the other things he'd done? She giggled.

And for that, she gave him a kiss on the cheek out of overwhelming joy.

She felt him stiffen.

"Holy fuck," he muttered. He looked into her eyes and placed his hand over his cheek. His jaw dropped. "Holy shit did you just kiss me?"

Lucy giggled at his goofiness. "Uh, yeah,"

"Do it again."

And she did.

"Holy shit this is the best day ever."

"Yes, yes it is."

* * *

 **A/N: THIS IS MY FAVORITE SO FAR.** Don't even ask me what happened after lmao and if they got back to class. (But to answer that, hm, nope. HAHAHA. They skipped school, mwahaha. _BUT DON'T DO IT, KIDS!_ Even though I'm practically a kid myself... but naw, I ain't skippin'; only to class. Heh.)

Hope you liked it!


	4. Drunken

**The 7 Stages of Love**

 **Stage 4 – Drunken**

 **A/N:** In this chapter, the cut sentences, all caps sentences and such are INTENDED.

 **Summary:** He's totally wasted. She's weirded out.

 **WARNING:** Please understand that this is based off the old Fairy Tail. However you vision how old I meant, it's up to you. But please do know that I'm not updated about Fairy Tail's latest chapter/episodes. Thank you.

THERE ARE CUSSES.

 **DISCLAIMER:** _Kleia does not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does._

* * *

" _I got nothing, nothing. I got nothing, nothing_ ," she sang along the song of _The Script_ as she stirred the batter of the carrot cupcakes she was currently making out of boredom. It was only week two of her college life, and she had never felt _this_ socially drained up to the point of not coming to all the welcoming parties or the congratulations-you-made-it-to-college parties she was invited to. She knew that parties in Japan don't involve drugs and heavy drinking, but she just wasn't up for a lot of noise and people crowded in one small and stuffy room. It was gross, she had to admit. She wasn't a party person. (And she's embracing that fact.)

Nonetheless, she still received text messages from her new acquaintances and her old high school friends telling her to come out her stupid apartment and join in on the fun! P.S. There's a hot guy in here. Yet some still texted her telling her that they forgot how she's partly introverted, and she appreciated them for that, telling them that maybe she'll tag along next time if the place isn't too crowded. She knew most of the students are there, if not all (but her).

She poured the batter into the cupcake papers settled in the pan, watching the mixture slowly make its way out of the bowl and into the paper, taking its time to settle in its new home. Once she was done (and drooling all over the place), she took the pan and popped in the preheated oven, watching the oven baking her delicious babies before walking back to the table to clean her mess up.

 _It was a good thing I had a few things to do, and I did them all yesterday, ***** _ she thought to herself, satisfied with her proper planning. She has always been the organized kind of person, who self-proclaims to be obsessive compulsive (without the disorder, since she isn't diagnosed with it) or meticulous, for any matter.

After she had finished washing her dirty dishes and bowls, she crouched down to peer over the cupcakes (which scent was filling the room, and it wasn't helping with her craving stomach), smiling as she found them baking beautifully—

"Uh, hello?" she dubiously said on her phone. (She answered it without looking at the caller ID.)

A deep chuckle was heard from the other line. "'Ey, gorgeouusssss," he slurred.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows and frowned, deciding to look at the caller ID. She then pressed her phone to her ears. "What the fuck, Gray? Is this you?" she whispered-screamed, throwing her free hand in the air out of exasperation. Then she noticed something, "Are you freaking _drunk_?"

Her eyes widened.

"Ho no. No no no no no way. Nope. Gray what the fuck. You cannot be drunk. You were at that party too, weren't you? Were you that hot guy my friends were referring to? Ho no oh hell no you can't be. But wait I can't even believe you'd go to that gross-ass party there's a lot of people there ew—"

He chuckled. "That's why I left. So fucking hot in there I left my shirt there. Can't take it anymore."

" _Gray!_ Why _would you do that? Don't you know you could be accused of public nudity if an officer sees you? And are you drinking straight from a bottle? I can practically hear you gulping like there's no fucking tomorrow I—_ "

"Chill, babe. I know my limits. Let me enjoy myself today. S'been a while since I last felt this adreline."

She froze. He said _babe_. No, he _called her_ babe.

(She secretly wanted him to call her that again.)

(But she knew he was quite sober.)

She just noticed he said adrenaline wrong. He was definitely nearing the stage of getting drunk.

"And did you know how fucking cute you sound while you're mad? Damn,"

"Wha—"

He was definitely drunk. That, or she was dreaming.

"Holy fuck Lucy Heartfilia I'm so in love with you and you have no idea." He slurred, voice so deep and husky and raspy and she's practically running out of adjectives and words to describe how his voice is currently melting her. She's all over the floor in a mess of lava and heat. "Your house smells good I'm coming in~"

He hung up.

She stifled a laugh through her flushed face. He was so drunk he smelled her house. He couldn't possibly be _near_ her house. Besides, she doesn't even live in a house! And she doesn't know any bars nearby—

"I'M HOOOOOMMMEEE WAIFUUUUU~" Gray drunk-called as he barged in Lucy's apartment, much to her shock. Didn't he just say _house_? How did he end up here? (Curse her bad habit of leaving her door unlocked not until before she sleeps.) Lucy ran out of the kitchen and toward Gray, pushing his sweaty torso away and towards her door. ("Get the fuck out of my apartment, Gray! How did you even get here? Shit you reek!" Lucy half-scolded, stifling laughs in between.) "Heeeey there babyguuurl~ Wat'cha bakin'? Some brownies for your husbandooo?" he sang, eyes half-closed and lips curved into the biggest smile. His cheeks were adorably flushed and his hair was messier than it ever was.

He's totally wasted.

He sniffed the air. Looked at Lucy, the smile still there. She can't help but stop herself from smiling at this rare state of Gray. "They donut smell like browiesssss. I wanna try 'em!" he proclaimed, making a beeline for the kitchen, stumbling all over, a laughing Lucy following.

"Hey! They're not ready yet! Don't eat them! Graaaay!" Lucy whined, laughing away as her strength was nonexistent while she made an effort to pull Gray away from her stove and oven. But she was too late. He was already chewing on something. And that something was from one of her pans, which she used for cooking her dinner.

"Ish sho goooood~" he dreamily said with a full mouth, earning a giggle from Lucy as he staggered all over the place.

"Alright thanks, Gray, now please—"

1

2

3 seconds passed by in rigid silence as she was sandwiched in-between the sink and him.

"—please…"

All she knew at that moment was the word _please_ as her eyes drifted from his toned torso to his strong arms on either side of her to the table behind him to the oven beside her (which was smelling of carrot cupcakes) to his collarbones to his shoulders to his neck to his windswept midnight hair to his lips to his nose to his ears

to his eyes.

They were inches away and her heart was sprawled all over the floor and her stomach had exploded, the butterflies breaking free and her cheeks were all covered in roses she could barely see or hear or feel or think properly and

he spoke.

"I want you

to be

my

wife

someday."

His breath was made of fire and her ear was made of ice and she's melting melting melting underneath him she's turning into liquid and she can't fathom how flustered she could be. Her stomach was up in the air with the butterflies and her heart was halfway around the world from running around. Those 8 whispered words were enough to drive her into the realm of madness.

She laughed it off, albeit nervously, as she gently pushed him away. "What are you saying, Gray?" she asked, completely avoiding eye contact.

But he wasn't budging.

Her eyes widened.

She squirmed underneath him and looked at him from behind.

"GRAY WHAT THE FUCK? STOP FUCKING PUKING ON MY FUCKING SINK WHAT THE FUCK GRAY! GET OFF!" Lucy shrieked as she pulled Gray off her sink with all her might. " _You are so gonna die once you wake up tomorrow Fullbuster._ " She grunted, pushing him on her couch. Luckily, by the time she was pulling him away, he was done with his business. (But she had to clean it up. Gross. This is why she hated parties—the aftermath sucks.)

Gray giggled, wagging a finger at her. "That's—not the—right way to talk—princess~"

"Shut the fuck up and stay there. I'm gonna get you some fucking water." Lucy grumbled, stomping off towards her kitchen. She remembered to get the cupcakes out of the oven first before pouring Gray a glass of cold water. She'll save the aspirin for later. (She knew he would have a terrible headache by tomorrow morning. It was obvious.) She then trotted to where the couch was, finding Gray in the same position she told him to stay in.

He looked at her with his big droopy eyes as if he was a good puppy. She stopped a smile from curling on her lips as she shoved him his glass of water. She _was_ still pissed at him for vomiting on her sink. He took the glass and inhaled all its contents, giving her back the empty glass. She took it, walking back towards her—

Oops, no way would she risk seeing that ugly blob of something from Gray's mouth. So she instead planted the glass on the coffee table in front of them. "Go to sleep. You'll need it." she ordered him, and he obeyed by yawning and lying down on the couch as if he was in his house.

"Goodnight, princess."

She paused in her tracks. A warm feeling spread through her stomach and all over her body, and she soon found herself standing there with a flushed face. (She wanted him to call her that forever.) But she brushed it off. He was drunk, anyway. He probably meant another person when he said that. She was probably not his princess.

Yet she smiled. Shook her head. "Goodnight, Gray."

* * *

He came from a fucking mind war.

His head hurts so bad that banging it on the wall would hurt less than the hangover he's having. This sucks. Damn. It just _hurts so fucking bad_. He doesn't even know if he's lying down or sitting up and all he can see is the pain he feels at the moment. It feels like something was pulling him down down down and damn now he knows how hell feels like.

He needs some water.

It took loads of effort to open his eyes. He groaned. He turned to his left.

Water. Holy fuck, such a beautiful, stupendous sight of clear liquid in a glass. It was heavenly. Oh look, aspirin. What a Godsend.

Wait.

How the hell did water and aspirin—

Is that a carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting? (His stomach grumbled at the sight. But what if it's poisoned? But how could it be poisoned? How hates him that much? Of course, nobody! But something restrained him from taking even the smallest bite from that delectable cupcake.)

His head hurts. Where the fuck is he?

The color drained from his already-pale face. This cannot be happening to him. He _cannot_ be in a stranger's house. Not again. Not this time. What even happened last night? How did he end up here? Oh shit, if he got into trouble—and the dirty kind of trouble—he's so gonna—

Wait, is that a picture of Lucy?

He's safe. He needn't to worry. He's in Lucy's territory.

Lucy's house. He's in Lucy's house.

But holy shit. He doesn't remember anything _at all_. What could he possibly have done to Lucy? He could've lashed out at her! But he wasn't an angry drunk. But he could've scared the crap out of her! It was possible. He could've—

No, he couldn't have done that. He's not _that_ desperate. He couldn't. He shouldn't.

But is that a note?

He took it, and it read, _You were so wasted last night you have to watch it again. Hope you enjoy. (Btw, this is revenge for puking on my sink. And you owe me a full meal, mister.) –Lucy_ He half-smiled at her cute handwriting—even though it all looked like swirls and scribbles due to his headache but he understood some nonetheless—yet felt half-confused at what _exactly_ happened last night. So he took her phone, and typed in the passcode. (Which he guessed at first try. She was such an open book.)

A video popped up immediately, and it was displaying something very blurry which made Gray's heart beat out of his chest and wither all over the floor. He contemplated. Should he play it, or act as if nothing had happened? Play it and watch his man pride go down the drain, or be all casual?

Fuck it.

He pressed play.

It was all black at first.

" _I'M HOOOOOMMMEEE WAIFUUUUU~_ "

His headache worsened. And it was mainly due to sheer embarrassment. Was that really him? God, he really was wasted. Damn, what a horrible way of remembering something. The video was still black, but with some white splotches somewhere. He furrowed his eyebrows at this.

" _Heeeey there babyguuurl~ Wat'cha bakin'? Some brownies for your husbandooo_?"

He face-palmed himself. Great, now he's _really_ wasted and obvious. That's it. She's weirded out. Friendship over. Doom for him, rainbows and unicorns for her. He indirectly announced his feelings for her—even though he announced it when he asked her to prom and when he went with her to prom but it didn't mean anything really—and now she left him all alone because of his creepiness.

 _"They donut smell like browiesssss. I wanna try 'em!"_

His eyes lit up as the phone was being pulled out somewhere, now viewing him stumbling towards Lucy's kitchen. He covered his face as he felt the room getting hotter and hotter. But he decided to peek once he heard Lucy's laughter in the background.

 _"Hey! They're not ready yet! Don't eat them! Graaaay!"_

He smiled some. Lucy really was the cutest. They were now in the kitchen and—

He was eating her cooking.

He was such an embarrassment.

Lucy laughed in the background of the video as she pulled him away with her free hand. He stumbled around, chewing like there was no tomorrow.

" _Ish sho goooood~"_

 _Thank you, self. Thanks very much for being such a huge weirdo,_ Gray thought to himself as he watched himself in the video, stumbling around the kitchen, chewing something as Lucy laughed away in the sidelines.

" _Alright thanks, Gray, now please—_ "

He paused the video.

Did he just? Did he really?

Did he just trap her in between the sink and him?

All the colors rushed through his veins and to his face. He covered his colorful face. "Damn damn damn now she's gonna think I'm a big creep…" he mumbled to himself, thinking hard on whether or not he was going to resume the video or not. His head throbbed still, and he knew he needed to sleep this away, but what happened next? He needed to find out. So he played the video.

It was all black and silent.

"—please…"

Shit did he harass her or something? He hoped he didn't. He can't live with that guilt and self-hate.

"I want you to be my wife someday."

He paused it again.

" _What the fuck?_ " he whispered-screamed to himself, running a slightly exasperated hand through his hair, as he played it again.

Lucy laughed nervously. Great, he was officially a creep. Great. " _What are you saying, Gray_?"

They were both quiet.

He waited.

Lucy then suddenly began squirming out of his arms and was that the sound of—

 _"GRAY WHAT THE FUCK? STOP FUCKING PUKING ON MY FUCKING SINK WHAT THE FUCK GRAY! GET OFF!"_

Shit. He was a walking embarrassment.

That was it. He will pause this video and never even think twice about keeping it that way. It was beyond embarrassing. His used-to-be paradise of man pride and ego is now under severe drought since Lucy made everything go away. He has no man pride left. It has all been flushed down.

What a sad life he's living.

* * *

 **A/N:** I haven't done prompt 5 yet omf I'm gonna die.

Hope y'all liked it! (I laughed while writing this chapter, lol.)

0-0-0

 _It was a good thing I had a few things to do, and I did them all yesterday, ***** \- _ I don't know how the college life works yet, so yea. Just say that they had just started college.

 **Please don't be shy to review! Leave suggestions, observations, critiques and the like. They are my fuel. Mmmmm.**

And also, please feel free to read my other works of fiction. :) Have a good day, everyone!


	5. Breakdown

**The 7 Stages of Love**

 **Stage 5 – Breakdown**

 **A/N:** SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE, OMG. I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS ALREADY SEPTEMBER 7 HERE, WHERE I AM. Oh the days go by so fast, it hurts. :(

 **Summary:** In which Gray ran all the way to check on Lucy.

 **WARNING:** Please understand that this is based off the old Fairy Tail. However you vision how old I meant, it's up to you. But please do know that I'm not updated about Fairy Tail's latest chapter/episodes. Thank you.

 **DISCLAIMER:** _Kleia does not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does._

* * *

Lucy knew that the only thing to do to survive was to breathe.

But somehow, right this moment, she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Something is strangling her, a huge invisible hand was blocking her lungs and throat, and a foot was kicking her heart. She was on the floor, writhing in pain as she clutched her heart her throat her body her everything. Tears tears and more tears fell down her face. Her eyes were a waterfall, yet she was a fish out of water.

Struggling and choking in pain, she still strived to reach her phone on the dining table. She tapped and felt around the smooth wood until she had found the gadget. It was as if it was her lifeline. With a blurry vision and the difficulty to find oxygen, she scrolled through her contacts and stopped at a certain name. Her trembling finger had to tap on the name several times until she finally put him on call.

Two rings took forever.

" _Hello?_ "

She coughed and coughed and coughed. Air was running out of lungs. She was getting exhausted from holding on too long.

" _Fuck, hello, Lucy? Lucy, hello? Holy fuck I'm coming to get you baby girl stay right here with me put me on speaker I'm coming for you don't ever hang up on me please I need to know how you're doing!"_ Gray exclaimed from the other line as Lucy's attempt of putting him on speaker succeeded. It was evident he was in a hurry to rush out of his house. " _Lucy hello are you on speaker now, baby? I'm coming over just hang on please!_ "

He was running. She could hear. She could hear the horns his breath the shouts of the children his panting the bark of the dog his footsteps. But all of them are cloudy in her hearing. She's passing out. She's aware. She's so aware of what was going to happen. She can't breathe she can't get a hold of herself she's breaking apart.

But then something clicked in her mind. Realization brought her back.

 _"If you're going through those panic attacks again, just remember everything we did together. You said it calms you down, right? Our memories together? Then just think about it. When I'm not around, just think about us."_

Those words were as clear as day in her mind, no matter where or when he last said that, it was as if he reminds her that every day. And she loves him for that. So she thought. She thought back from the moment he saved her from the cops up to the moment he walked in on her, completely wasted. Those moments those memories which she held onto slowly brought back her normal breathing, like stars or fireflies being put in a jar for keeps.

From a stormy ocean, to a calm sea. That's how Gray's magic works. He always had the power to make her quiet after having her attacks. His arms always had the power to slow down her heartbeat and collapse against him. His heartbeat always had the power to reassure her. His warmth always had the power to melt down her icy temperature whenever she feels sick or cold. His soul always had the power to bring her home. He could be her home. He could be her nest. He is her nest.

" _Lucy baby are you okay are you dead I can't hear you right now oh my God please say something or even cough at me please tell me you're alive oh my God I'm almost there,_ " Gray wheezed from the other end of the line, breaking the silence between Lucy and her train of thoughts. She smiled slightly at how panicky he was. It was rather endearing.

"I'm—okay, Gray—" she groused, her voice horribly raspy and her throat achingly enflamed and sore from all the coughing and sobbing and panting and hurting. She chuckled some, realizing that Gray had thought she was dead.

" _Why are you laughing, babe?_ "

"You—you thought I—was dead," It hurt her to talk, but she knew she won't die from it.

" _What? I got worried, okay? Yeesh,_ " Gray said defensively, earning a hoarse chuckle from Lucy. " _But I'm glad you're still alright. The last time you had this was the worst. I really thought then and there that maybe you couldn't make it._ "

"W-which was—is why—I—you bought me—flowers and—and stuff?"

" _Can't I buy those just because I love you? Jeez, woman,_ " Gray jested from the other end, laughing at himself. " _But yeah I kinda_ did _buy those because I got scared I might lose you. Oh damn here we are again, goin' deep._ "

Lucy simply smiled, her heart aching in a good way, her cheeks blooming with roses, her eyes fluttering closed at the sound of him. She loves him. She loves him she loves him she loves him. Ever since she had her first panic attack, he was there. He acted as her brother, her caretaker, her angel. She loved him for that. She knew how much of a trouble she would cause every time those attacks came, but he treated those moments like a box filled with glass.

" _I'm almost there, baby girl, just hang on. Are you feeling better?_ "

"Never better."

What seemed like seconds passed by when she heard keys being twisted in the lock and the door being opened. (Lucy allowed Gray to have a copy of her house keys just in case this happens.) " _Lucy! Where are you! Croak at me, come on!_ " Gray chimed in from the door, his breath short.

He ran.

He ran from his house all the way to her house.

She knew he wasn't near her house. At all. It might take around five to ten minutes to get to his house by car.

He ran past the dining room, which was where she was.

"Oops, holy shit hold on there was a corpse there just now," he muttered audibly to himself as he retraced his steps and went in the dining room, smiling down at Lucy, who was still on the floor, limp and somewhat lazy to get up due to the enervate she's feeling. "How are you feeling, Lucy? I'm here, let me help you up." He was slightly gasping and he was terribly sweaty. He was showered in perspiration.

He crouched down, sliding his hands under her nape and back, before lifting her up and carrying her bridal style. "I know you don't mind being drenched in my sweat, so yeah take in my majestic salty liquid and scent. I know you still love me."

She was amazed at each and every time he would still have the energy to make her laugh and carry her even after all those times of her calling him during her breakdowns. And there she just came to notice how much she loved him. No matter how cliché that sounds, she didn't care. Hell, who wouldn't love that one person who was there for you even if your middle name spelled A Tiresome Piece of Shit?

Gray seemed to notice how quiet she was. He glanced down at her. "Hey, you okay? You're quiet there,"

"I'm just thinking…" she cut herself off as Gray laid her down gently on her bed.

He planted a kiss on her forehead before stroking her hair amorously, sitting at the edge of the bed. "'Bout what?"

Her eyes darted everywhere besides his midnight ones. She fidgeted with the duvet. Then with her hair. "Well… I don't know I just—" she took a breath, "I love you so much." She exhaled, blushing ever so slightly as if it was her first time to mutter out those five words.

Gray sighed as he smiled. "I love you too. So much," he gently said. "But let me tell you something, Lucy. Listen to me," she looked up at him. "Whatever you're thinking about right now doesn't matter. Yeah sure, your panic attacks suck, and the fact that I'd always have to exercise my way over here all the time sucks twice, I'd still do anything for you. And I'm gonna have to tell you a secret: you don't have to believe every thought that pops in your head.

"You could be thinking about how I'm getting tired of you or if I won't love you anymore right now, and let me tell you this: it isn't even close to the truth. Wanna know the truth? I'm never going to get tired of you and I will always, always love you. I mean, come on, I've dealt with a lot of your bullshits already, so why drop this one, right? Besides, when this gets treated, we can have something to laugh at in the future."

"Oh, I hate you…" Lucy mumbled under breath as she covered her face. She was pretty sure she can be compared to a tomato by now.

"I love you, too, Luce," Gray cooed, fishing out one of his spare shirts on Lucy's closet. He quickly changed into the dry shirt and wiped his sweat off with his old shirt. After which, he climbed on Lucy's bed and crawled until he was beside her. He then grabbed the remote from the bedside table and turned the television on. After switching several channels, Gray found a channel playing _The Fault in Our Stars_ , one of Lucy's favorite movies. (And one of his most hated ones.)

Lucy then planted her head over his chest, something she does out of habit. Without missing a beat, Gray started to play with her hair. Feeling how his finger kept on twirling around her hair and how, at times, his hand would massage her head, her eyes began to flutter. His heartbeat was her lullaby. It was slow and calm and she could listen to it forever.

" _I love you,_ " she mouthed, very well aware Gray was watching her sleep, as she scooted even closer to him, snuggling and keeping herself comfortable in his warmth and large frame.

He planted a kiss on her forehead. " _I love you too, princess._ "

* * *

 **A/N:** Lmao, sorry for the short, sucky, and cliché chapter. I just wrote this today upon coming home from school.

PLEASE DO LEAVE A REVIEW: SUGGESTIONS, CRITIQUES, OBSERVATIONS, ETC. ARE OKAY! I DON'T EVER BITE!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!


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